BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN CHURCH
September 2015
“Jesus, Savior, pilot me over life’s tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll, hiding rock and treach’rous shoal;
Chart and compass come from thee. Jesus, Savior, pilot me” ELW 755
I was standing under the overhang of the sanctuary roof facing north leaning against that tall imposing north wall. As I looked up I had the impression that our church had the appearance of the prow of a
huge boat plowing through the strong currents that were swirling past us. If you take a look from that vantage point I am sure you can see the image as well. That northern wall indeed is pointed like the prow of a
ship, the roof line sweeps up toward the north like a ship cresting a wave. And believe me it is good architecture. The images and themes of ships and boats have often been incorporated into church buildings. The
stories of Jesus calming storms and walking on water to reach the beleaguered disciples have helped shape
these traditions. Whether or not in 1962 Edward Sovik and his architectural firm designed our sanctuary
with nautical themes in mind, I am not sure, I see it.
The day I was looking at the north wall was one of the windiest days this summer. Bruce Johnson
had just described to me how he had sealed up some of the leaks in the prow of this ship of a church. When
you come to church next take a look at the red stain glass cross on our northern wall. It is a beautiful and
inspirational feature within the plain appearance of the large wooden wall. It has been, however, the source
of some major heat loss. Last year we had an energy test that showed us that most of the wind we could
feel on the inside of the sanctuary was coming from around the stain glass cross and from the edge of the
wall where it meets that majestic tall ceiling. Bruce removed one of the pieces of redwood surrounding the
exterior of the stain glass and saw a gap of ¼ to ½ inch all the way around the cross. No wonder the wind
blew through that wall so strongly that the candles inside sometimes burned horizontally. So he and Travis
got to work and sealed up the entire window, and then proceeded to seal the gaps where the exterior wall
meets the soffit. That work will save us some energy (and candles). We’ll do another test to see where
there might be any remaining leaks. We can be very thankful for all of Bruce’s efforts.
In the process of working on this church we have also learned how well it was built. Don’t let the
story of the gap around the stain glass cross make you think otherwise. As you look at the north wall this
winter, confident that we are warmer and more energy efficient, we can also meditate of the strength of that
prow. The wall you are looking at is over twelve inches thick with a steel I-beam supporting the ridge and
another steel beam set horizontally forming a cross. You can see the shadow of the horizontal beam in the
mid part of the red stain glass cross. Obviously, this church was built to withstand the storms of time. Let
the physical structure of Bethlehem be our inspiration in many ways. One is that we too need to be built up
into a strong sanctuary, as we “come to him, to that living stone,…and like living stones be yourselves built
into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.” 1 Peter 2:4. And a second inspiration is that we are in the boat
with Jesus himself. The wind will continue to come crashing against the prow, but the Lord is with us.
“As a mother stills her child, thou canst hush the ocean wild;
boisterous waves obey thy will when thou say’st to them ‘be still.’
Wondrous sovereign of the sea, Jesus Savior, pilot me”
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Mark
Confirmation Classes start in September
First there will be an orientation on Wednesday
September 9th at 5:30
p.m. Again we will be
using the Here We Stand
curriculum which divides
the three year journey
into 6th grade –Old Testament; 7th grade – New
Testament, and 8th grade
– Luther’s Small Catechism.
Confirmation
Sunday itself will
be on October 25,
Reformation
Sunday.
Our regular classes will begin
on September 23rd. at 5:00 p.m.
with a meal. This year we welcome Mike Chmelik back as a
teacher for the sixth grade.
Also teaching the sixth grade
class will be Cara Sporn. Cara
has been teaching our fifth
graders in Connect for many
years and now is moving into
our middle school ministry,
thank you so very much.
Hilja Iverson and John
Sparks are back to teach,
this year moving up to the
seventh grade class and
the New Testament.
Middle School Gathering at
Craguns in Brainerd November 20-21. Rev. Mike
Carlson will be the keynote
speaker on the topic of The
Commandments.. We will
need driver/chaperones for
this fantastic event. It is open
for 6-9 grades.
Confirmation Retreat
We will hold our annual
retreat later in the month,
Sunday September 20 –
Monday 21st .Again we
will be hosted by the
Proms at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters. Their
generosity for these re-
treats is outstanding. All to the great faith experithe confirmation students ence on this short and
stay overnight in the rus- intense retreat.
tic cabins and bunkhouses across the Gull
River from the outfitting
lodge. Canoeing, hiking
and swimming (brrr) add
Confirmation Sunday itself will be on October 25, Reformation Sunday
Our ninth graders will be preparing for confirmation by the
process of writing their faith
statements. Senior High Peer
Ministers will be their men-
tors in this process. Mentorship
will be an additional blessing
not only to the ninth grader but
also the senior high helper, for
we all know how our own un-
Senior High Youth Group
regular meetings will start up again in September.
Daniel will hold and orientation to Senior High and
Peer Ministry on Wednesday September 16th at 5:30
p.m. Regular sessions will start on Wednesday September 23rd.
derstanding grows as we step up
to teach.
Heads up for
Sunday School.
Rally Sunday –
September 13th at
10:00 am. Sunday
school classes are
for kids 3 years old
and above.
Thank you
Bruce Johnson has been
working hard around the
church these past couple
of weeks. Thank you
Bruce, and Travis Smith
who is working with
him. They have removed
the old concrete slab
from the previous bell
tower, installed ramps
for the new exit doors off
the sanctuary, caulked
the cracks in the sanctuary north wall, applied
stucco to the cement
blocks on the east wall,
sealed up cracks in the
pavement that allowed
rain water to flood into
the boiler room, and
many other details.
Thank you also to Jim
Daugherty who has installed the baby changing
table in the Men’s restroom and put a wide
threshold at that door.
Thank you to the painting angel (unnamed) who
has finished up the walls
in the hallway after these
final construction details
are complete. Thank
you to the Wednesday
worship gardeners who
have been harvesting the
church gardens and will
have carrots, potatoes
and beets to donate to the
Harvest dinner. Thank
you to Jody Daugherty
who is pickling the
church garden beets for
the Harvest dinner.
Thank you to Gene
Erickson for mowing and
trimming the church
yards.
Remember the
Men’s Retreat
at Wilderness
Canoe Base on
Seagull Lake
for Friday and
Saturday,
October 23 &
24. This will be
a faith building
renewing retreat
geared for men.
Mission of the Month
Mission of the Month
for September will be
dedicated to Dodoma
Tanzania Health Development. Please use the
special envelopes in the
pews for the mission of
the month. If writing a
check, please note in the
memo line Dodoma Tanzania.
A Safe Church for All of God’s Children!
Bethlehem Lutheran Church has a policy that formalizes our commitment to
the safety of all children and youth who participate in our programs. Anyone
who wishes to volunteer in our programs with children and youth will need to
comply with our safety policy and allow us to do a background check. Key
parts of our policy stress the need for multiple adults present at any event. The
policy for Safe Church is available in our church office and at our youth and
family bulletin board. Volunteers are invited to review the policy and sign the
forms.
Worship Notes
Thank you so very
much!
In August we were very
blest with guest preachers, Mark Youngdahl,
Rev. John Bragstad,
Rev. Kris Garey, Rev.
Carol Mork, thank you
to all of them.
Season of Creation Liturgy in September. We will be using a special liturgy in the month of September as we lift up the themes of the
stewardship of creation and the blessings God has provided in the
natural world. Every Sunday we will have the themes of Planet Earth
(Sept.6), Humanity (Sept. 13), Skies (Sept. 20), and Mountains (Sept.
27) as our highlights. Invocations, Invitations, Prayers, Affirmations,
Hymns and Readings will all direct us toward a deeper appreciation of
and stronger praise for God’s marvelous creation which supports all
life.
Bethlehem Lutheran Mission Endowment Committee
The Bethlehem Lutheran
Church Mission endowment Committee has
been making distributions
of interest income in the
following categories
since 2006.
1. Bethlehem Lutheran
Church
2. Community Outreach
3. Missions of the
ELCA
Bookies will start
up again
September15
At Mary Sanders’
home 9:30 AM
This year we were able
to disburse $6,914.48 in
gifts. Bethlehem Lutheran Church –seed
money towards a Veterans recognition area in
the narthex and a welcome table. North East
Minnesota ELCA Synod
center for changing lives
in Duluth operated
through Lutheran Social
Services for homeless
youth. Community of
Cook County-Cook
County Food Shelf, Violence Prevention Center,
Backpack weekend Food
Program for grades K-8
at ISD#166. ELC Global
Mission-Lutheran World
Relief in Nepal. 2015
BLC scholarship-Carrie
Palmer. For those interested in information concerning gifts to the
Mission Endowment
Fund, brochures are
available in the Narthex. In addition you
can contact Pastor
mark or the committee
members Kathleen
Johnson, Dianne Peterson, Ed Bolstad,
Paul Dahl or Christy
Buetow.
Sunday School – Children’s Church
mon they are welcomed
into their own special
church time with songs
Sunday school will begin
again on September 13, 2015 in the fellowship hall.
There they will share a
during the worship service.
prayer and finally go to
Our Sunday School time at
the newly decorated EleBethlehem can be called
mentary Rooms down"Children's Church." The
children age 3 to grade 5 start stairs for a Children’s
Bible Video/DVD curtheir Sunday morning gathriculum “Whirl.” When
ered with the whole congregation in the sanctuary, then their Children's Church
right after the children’s ser- time is finished they
Sunday School – Children’s Church
Holy Moly and Connect!! 3:30 PM – 4:30
Wednesday after
School Programs
Holy Moly and Connect!! 3:30 PM – 4:30
PM
Bethlehem's after school
program on Wednesday
starts classes on Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
The 3rd graders will be in
Holy Moly with Jessica
Rodne leading that
group. The 4th & 5th
graders will be in Connect with Theresa Oberg
as their teacher. These
are excellent programs
that draw the kids into
the Bible stories in creative ways.
come back into the sanctuary at Holy Communion time to receive their
blessings at the communion table. Many thanks
and blessings to Brooke
Youngdahl, Bev Johnson, Janet Ditmanson,
Cara Sporn, Theresa
Oberg, Allison Heeren,
Laurie Spry among others who will be guiding
our children this school/
church year.
BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN
CHURCH
Non Profit Org.
US Postage Paid
417 W. 1st Ave.
Box 638
Grand Marais, MN 55604
Permit#3
Grand Marais, MN 55604
Phone: 218 387-2227
E-mail: [email protected]
Hip Hop Outreach coming to Bethlehem! On Wednesday,
October 14 at 6:30 p.m. we have David Scherer, a great performer with a powerful message coming to Grand Marias and we
intend to invite all the churches of the North Shore to come and
hear him. He goes by the stage name of Agape and has been in
the music leadership of our National Lutheran Youth Gatherings
for many years. He has also been the main speaker at our own
synod youth gatherings. Trinity and Bethlehem are sharing the
sponsorship of this great event. Everyone young and young at
heart are welcome!